India closes Kimberley Process meet with focus on 3Cs and transparency

For natural-diamond sellers, Mumbai’s Kimberley Process meeting was less a diplomatic ritual than a reminder that certification is now part of the sales pitch. India used the four-day intersessional to push the 3Cs, Credibility, Compliance and Consumer Confidence, and to argue that a robust, transparent certification system is what keeps rough diamonds moving with trust attached to every parcel.

The Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting 2026 ran from May 11 to May 14 in Mumbai, bringing together participants, observers, industry stakeholders and civil society organizations under India’s 2026 chairship. India assumed the chair on January 1, 2026, its third turn at the helm, and officials said the country wanted the process to stay relevant in a market that changes quickly. The discussion did not stop at ritual assurances. Working groups and committees focused on monitoring, technical processes, governance, statistics and artisanal production, the machinery that decides whether a diamond can be documented cleanly from source to sale.

The stakes are large. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was created under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 in 2000 and took effect on January 1, 2003. It now counts 60 participants representing 86 countries, with the European Union and its member states treated as a single bloc. Those participants account for more than 99% of the global rough diamond trade, which is why the meeting’s talk of transparency and operational mechanisms matters far beyond the conference room.

Piyush Goyal said India, as the world’s leading center for diamond cutting and polishing, sees the Kimberley Process as vital to keeping natural diamonds a symbol of trust, responsibility and shared prosperity. He tied that argument to the millions of livelihoods the sector supports across producing, processing and consuming nations, a reminder that any loss of confidence hits miners, polishers, traders and retailers at once. Suchindra Misra, chair of the KP in 2026, said the progress achieved in Mumbai reflected a shared commitment to keeping the process credible, relevant and responsive to changing global diamond trade dynamics and consumer expectations.

Ronnie VanderLinden, president of the World Diamond Council, closed the session by saying the week showed the Kimberley Process “at its best,” while also flagging a funding challenge at the KP Secretariat. Senior officials from India’s Department of Commerce, members of the World Diamond Council and representatives of the Civil Society Coalition were present throughout, a tripartite mix that still defines the scheme. What Mumbai made clear is that the next test for the natural-diamond trade is not whether it can speak the language of responsibility, but whether it can prove it, consistently and at scale.